Psychoanalytic Therapists in Philadelphia, PA

I am a licensed psychologist located in Center City and have been treating patients in the Philadelphia area since 2007. I work with individuals, couples, children and families. I have trained in psychodynamic, interpersonal and cognitive-behavioral therapies. My research and practice specialties include personality assessment, eating disorders, and working with family systems. In treatment, I focus on using my understanding of human behavior to help my patients better understand what thoughts and wishes motivate them as well as what fears or anxieties might be getting in their way.

I work in pursuit of a greater understanding of a persons life and mind, everything-feelings, beliefs, memories, dreams and even seemingly irrelevant passing thoughts. Emotional healing takes place in a safe space through the empathic work of a committed relationship between psychotherapist and patient that is radically individualized/fully confidential. My approach is with the concern of relieving immediate symptoms and resolving current life problems. Patients are encouraged to talk as freely as possible in an environment that can enhance their awareness into how they see themselves and the world around them with increased sense of freedom and validation.

In my practice I offer a welcoming setting and provide a safe space for your suffering or difficulties. When you speak about yourself to someone who is trained to listen and examine the circumstances that motivated your consultation, a change occurs. A psychoanalyst is a person trained to hear what is happening under the surface, and provides a place where you may speak and hear yourself differently. I have been working as a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist for 25 years and I have found that words can hurt, words can make people sick, but words can also save. Talking cures.

If you are hurting and want to feel better - whether the pain takes the form of sadness, anxiety, depression, family or relationship issues, trauma, adjustment to new situations or environments - or just about anything else - I can help you. In my 15 years of experience in the field, I use various different treatment modalities catered to your individual needs, with a focus on psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

I see my job as a therapist as providing a particular kind of space. A space that helps people to feel comfortable, and one that helps people to talk. It is through this talking that healing and transformation become possible. I believe that human beings have a natural tendency to move towards growth, maturity, and happiness. Sometimes, however, things happen in life that trip us up. Things get in our way. These obstacles can be diminished, weakened, and removed through the therapeutic process. That's what therapy is; the removal of what stands in the way of our movement towards our goals, desires, and dreams.

I believe that in order to change anything, we first need to understand and accept it. This is done through talking. I bring an empathetic, worldly, and multidisciplinary approach to help you gain a deeper understanding of who you are and what you want. We all repeat the same patterns through our lives that sometimes prevent us from happiness.Through therapy, we can start to observe those patterns, and then decide how we want to change them.

I see therapy as a holistic endeavor. When it comes to creating change, I believe in the importance of our bodies, not just our heads, in the healing process. So many of us have no issues with thinking. We can clearly analyze, and maybe even feel like we overanalyze, our struggles but still feel disconnected from ourselves, our relationships, the world around us. We are much more than our thoughts and I find therapy to be more effective when our full human experience- physical, emotional, spiritual- is also given focus.

I listen with an open mind and work collaboratively with you to develop your own personal wisdom and achieve lasting, meaningful change according to your goals. My approach is psychoanalytic, which means I'm equally interested in your contemporary life, your personal history, and your interior experience of the present moment.

The desire to be known, and to know oneself, is so very human. Working together, we can make sense of your internal experience as it relates to - and makes contact with - the external world. The therapeutic relationship is unique and collaborative. The deeper answers we seek are in the unconscious, hard to access in everyday, waking life. A safe and reliable space provides the conditions to understand your deepest motivations in starting the work known as therapy. Humor, when appropriate, can expand our perspective.

Psychotherapy can help you work through emotional issues, resolve relationship problems, improve your family life, and find more satisfaction in your work. Taking the time to explore the underlying reasons that contribute to your symptoms will help you work through emotional conflicts that are holding you back from having a balanced, fulfilling life.

Before consulting a professional, most people have already addressed their difficulties as well as they can – but they can only deal with what they know. What they typically need help with is the parts of their struggles they are not aware of. The treatments that help most to bring hidden matters to light, and under conscious control, are based on psychoanalytic principles. As a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, I try to understand people from multiple points of view. I work with my patients to help them get as clear and comprehensive a picture as possible.

People come to therapy for many reasons. Whatever the details may be, I've found that there's always a feeling something is not working out. You may be stuck feeling, thinking or acting in ways that are preventing you from living a more gratifying life. While medications can be helpful, they're not the full picture. I believe the best thing you can do for yourself is to find someone with whom you can clarify your thoughts and feelings without judgment. Examining our problems and working through internal conflicts is how we overcome whatever may be holding us back.

Do you feel anxious, lonely, like your life is upside down, like the world does not make sense, or cornered? Do you doubt your choices? Do you wish to find new ways and new answers? Your new path can start here and now! Psychoanalytic therapy means that you are not alone anymore in facing challenges, mending relationships, building strength, and creating the future you deserve. Whether you need help with your career, your romantic partner, your relationships, parenting, or aging parents, Please do not hesitate to call, text or email.

Each of us comes to psychotherapy for different reasons, and while no two psychotherapy journeys will be alike, we all require the same essential conditions of empathy, acceptance, and supportive encouragement to examine our lives with an attitude of curiosity and a creative vision for change. As a licensed psychologist with a wide-range of training and clinical experience, I am committed to establishing a therapeutic relationship that is dedicated toward understanding the circumstances that have brought you to this point in your life and in drawing upon your strengths and resources for taking your life in a new direction.

We view reality through distorted lenses. The shape, color, and luminance have been altered by our experiences. Some lenses have endured so much that achieving a clear vision can be challenging! When light does manage to pass through, it can be quite painful...

If you feel stuck, ruminative, or disconnected from your own life, and are seeking an engaged and examined life, psychotherapy can help. I deeply enjoy empowering my patients to know themselves and those around them with greater nuance, depth and honesty. Rather than labeling symptoms in a medicalized, detached way, I work to help patients negotiate complex relationships with themselves and those around them. By identifying patterns and the ways we find ourselves "stuck", psychotherapy can help disentangle these impasses, offering a freer way of being in the world.

Are you feeling stuck or unhappy in terms of a relationship, job, or in life in general? My integrative, solution-based focus is tailored to your specific situation, goals, personality, and comfort level. Together, we can identify and change the obstacles that are preventing you from better pursuing your goals, getting along better with the important people in your life, and feeling more confident and less anxious. My goal is to help you to find new ways of thinking about yourself and others so that you can manage challenges more easily and feel more confident and fulfilled in your life.

As a psychoanalyst, I believe most of our fundamental struggles relate to patterns in our relationships and societal pressures we can't easily see or understand. I collaborate with my clients to help them use their curiosity, talents, and strengths to resolve confusion and achieve understanding and relief. My style is non-judging and genuine so clients feel comfortable talking about parts of their lives that are stressful, frustrating, and even painful. In therapy, I help clients achieve a better sense of meaning in their lives and satisfaction in their relationships, so that anxiety, depression, shame and guilt ease away.

Difficult experiences in childhood can linger on in adulthood as low self esteem, difficulties dating, and underperforming professionally. You may also wonder if better relationships with difficult family members are possible. I specialize in working with individuals who want relief from anxiety, insecurities and a harsh inner critic, but also want to better understand themselves. As a psychodynamic/psychoanalytic therapist, I can help you make sense of how the past lives on in the present, so that you can get unstuck from patterns that no longer serve you, to live with greater clarity, confidence and joy.